Best season in franchise history from an overall success and excitement standpoint. First playoff game victory. First playoff series victory. Significant improvements in fan interest and long-term viability of on-court production. Things have been going really well in Memphis, Tennessee when it comes to the Grizzlies.

So, of course, this is happening. From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal:

Californian Larry Ellison, ranked as the third-richest person in the U.S., has inquired about buying the Memphis Grizzlies with apparent hopes of moving the team to San Jose.

But team owner Michael Heisley today downplayed the possibility of a sale — and of a relocation, citing a lease that ties the franchise to Memphis and FedExForum until 2021.

“I can’t downplay it enough. If it happens I’ll be surprised,” said Heisley, a Chicago-based billionaire who added that talks had not become serious. “It’s in the initial stages. We’ve handled this just like we’ve handled several other dozen requests. My situation in Memphis has not changed a lick. My preference will always be for somebody in Memphis to buy the team. There’s not any interest in Memphis. But we’ve always made it known that if somebody wants to buy the team, we’ll listen. If they’re real buyers we’ll probably be sellers. So far there hasn’t been anyone willing to buy the team under my terms and for my price.”

I’m not trying to be a negative nellie here, but that to me reads as “I can’t downplay it enough. I want to sell it to someone who doesn’t exist, and this person that does exist and will move the team and has been desperate to get a team for two years is interested, but seriously, no worries.”

Yeah, that’s not good for the Grizzlies sticking around.

If you want more proof — Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com reports the talks are in an “advanced stage.” Heisley and Ellison may already have a “handshake agreement” according to the report. This just does not look good at all.

Heisley has been consistent in saying he wants to sell. He has resisted investing in a losing team, which you can’t really blame him for. He’s finally put his money where his mouth is in the past year and a half though, handing out contracts to Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. He recently traded Sam Young for a player not playing in the NBA to avoid the luxury tax. Finances are on the guy’s mind and Memphis is a hard town to pull profit in.

Ellison on the other hand made a swing for the Hornets last year but was rebuffed. If you want some political intrigue, the California teams are wary of another team moving into their markets, especially the Warriors.

Heisley is on record as saying this isn’t a big deal. I can’t stress that enough. He said this isn’t the first pitch Ellison has made, and that there are other suitors, with one matching his $350 million price tag on the team. It’s just concerning because the more Memphis wins, the better value they are for a seller, and while many fans think Memphis is unworthy of having a team, they’ve responded to the Grizz being competitive and “tough” like the town is. Losing them to yet another California zipcode (making it five teams in one state) seems unfortunate for basketball coast to coast.

In fact, in Saturday’s dunk contest, he didn’t look like a dunker at all.

The Pacers star missed all three attempts of his first dunk, and a Black Panther mask was by far the biggest draw of his second. Oladipo was eliminated after the first round.

Maybe Dennis Smith Jr. wasn’t the only eliminated dunker who left something in his bag. This Oladipo dunk – 180 degrees, throwing ball off the backboard with his left hand while in mid-air, dunking with his right hand – while preparing in Los Angeles was awesome.

A statement released Wednesday by the NFL and NBA clubs says their 90-year-old owner is resting comfortably at Ochsner Medical Center, a hospital which also serves as a major sponsor and which owns naming rights to the teams’ training headquarters.

Benson has owned the New Orleans Saints since 1985 and bought the New Orleans Pelicans in 2012.

In recent years, Benson has overhauled his estate plan so that his third wife, Gayle, would be first in line to inherit control of the two major professional franchises.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he’d be surprised if Kawhi Leonard played again this season, a stark reversal from just a month ago. Back then, even while announcing Leonard was out indefinitely with a quad injury, the San Antonio coach said Leonard wouldn’t miss the rest of the season.

After spending 10 days before the All-Star break in New York consulting with a specialist to gather a second opinion on his right quad injury, All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard bears the burden of determining when he’s prepared to play again, sources told ESPN.

Leonard has been medically cleared to return from the right quad tendinopathy injury, but since shutting down a nine-game return to the Spurs that ended Jan. 13, he has elected against returning to the active roster, sources said.

The uncertainty surrounding this season — and Leonard’s future which could include free agency in the summer of 2019 — has inspired a palpable stress around the organization, league sources said.

At first glance, this sounds like Derrick Rose five years ago. Even after he was cleared to play following a torn ACL, the then-Bulls star remained mysterious about when he’d suit up. His confidence in his physical abilities seemed to be a major issue, and he was never the same player since (suffering more leg injuries).

But the Spurs famously favor resting players to preserve long-term health. They seem unlikely to rush back Leonard. They might even sit players who want to play more often. And Leonard isn’t Rose.

Still, it’s clear something is amiss in San Antonio. Maybe not amiss enough to end Leonard’s tenure there, but the longer this lingers, the more time for tension to percolate.